Disclaimer: I snitched a line or two from Blake. Yay me. Yay for not owning anything. Lastly, and most importantly, yay for 'Not Getting Sued.'
:: Run like Hell ::
To recap...(decides not to duck the scary objects thrown for not updating – and does a fancy aerial roundhouse! Hiyaaa!)
(thunk)
(bonk)
(...ouch.)
-(huh? Was that a whip that went sailing by? O.o Ahhhh!!!!! (runs))-
Sesshoumaru looked across the clearing, from behind the crossed swords and paled. Kagome was still bleeding out, she was running out of time, every second he wasted she was slipping, and she had...
...She had stopped moving.
No! Not Kagome. Not Kagome...
Sesshoumaru struck upwards, and unleashed Tetsusaiga, furious, eyes red with anger, more afraid than he had ever been. Kagome...
-and to continue...-
Tetsusaiga struck something, and clanged, and dimly, Sesshoumaru could sense another body in the clearing. That was too much, even for him.
If it was reinforcements, he was doomed – and more importantly, Kagome was.
He didn't even look to see what damage he had done striking at Damia, didn't think at all – he just ran.
Nothing mattered now except for the pale, pale form on the ground he was headed for, hair sweaty and hanging around her face, wisps hanging in in the wind, snow white, blood red...
Clutching the transformed fang, he shoved it roughly in his waistband, not caring that the now-rust blade had scratched him, not caring that Damia's blood was getting on him from the uncleaned blade, hardly noticing the small nicks and cuts he had gathered during the brief fight – for it had only taken a few seconds, though he felt it had lasted much longer - and scooped Kagome up in his one hand, breaking into a dead run.
All that mattered was getting Kagome out of there. Sesshoumaru held her tightly, gently, firm and close as he leap off the ground, and launched himself into the air.
No looking back – he would be slowed enough by the fact he was carrying the limp form in his arm. Looking back when you ran only slowed you down, disrupted the rhythm of the world, of what the world shrank to when you ran – breathing and blood pumping through you, the one two of one foot before the other.
He couldn't call up the white light – that would take too much energy, and he didn't have that luxury. Damia could be right on his heels. Getting away, fast. Most important thing right now.
Don't think, do.
So Sesshoumaru did; he ran.
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Mesau shouted as Sesshoumaru bounded past her, catching up Kagome and running flat out. The tenuous link that had been holding her to Kagome snapped back at her, and Mesau groaned.
She could already feel the headache the backlash was going to give her. That, and Sesshoumaru had, unknowingly, just taken Kagome away from Mesau – the one who was keeping her alive.
Not only were the two miko concerned for the Shikon miko...but apparently, so was Sesshoumaru.
"Oh, the fool..." Mesau was concerned, just a bit. She did not like harming anyone, and she had felt more than guilty on seeing the two younger miko. Kagome would die, now – she didn't want that to happen. Damia didn't either, Mesau reflected, but her motives differed.
Momiji and Botan stared at Sesshoumaru's retreating back, eyes wide. "He...he took her! Kagome!"
Mesau covered her head in her hands. "Yes, he did." Poor Kagome...there went a strong miko who could have gone a long ways...
Damia was not going to be pleased...
She'd see the situation as simply Sesshoumaru gone, though at least he'd looked wounded when he left. Kagome gone, likely dead without someone to keep her alive.
...Not according to plan. Not at all.
Across the splash of crimson on the ground that Kagome had left behind, Mesau watched Botan and Momiji. Neither looked well – both were quite upset. She was a bit upset as well, but she hid it much better. She wished things had turned out differently.
Mesau groaned, and then swore softly as she glanced back towards Damia. The taiyoukai stood against another foe – Sorai. And the two guards. Her mistresses arm was dripping blood, and the chest plate was askew. Sesshoumaru had actually managed to damage it a fair bit.
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Sorai's eyes widened as Sesshoumaru's sword...Tetsusaiga? More mysteries...swept up to block Damia's attack, rusted blade sending sparks flying.
He wasn't dead. Damia had lied!
Sorai's pale golden eyes narrowed through the bushes. Regicide was an accepted method of promotion – but Sesshoumaru wasn't dead. Yet. She could see Kyohei awkwardly sprawled to one side not too far from her, and knew him for deceased. She hadn't been too close to him – it didn't break her up much.
She turned to the guards behind her. "What do you think?" Were they with Damia...or Sesshoumaru? She knew who she would stand by. The question was...
"Lady, I think...he needs help." The closest one whispered hesitantly. "She..."
"Good enough. He needs help now, not talk. Mesau's down. Take Damia's flanks." Short, and terse.
Sorai darted from the bushes, nearly getting hit by an enormous, suddenly transformed fang as she rushed towards Sesshoumaru. 'Why the fang works now, I don't know...' before dodging back out of reach, and then striking. Damia barely had enough time to turn from Sesshoumaru to Sorai, eyes wide with surprise. Damia's arm was dripping from the gash Sesshoumaru had left on it, leading into a shallower cut across her shoulder. Sesshoumaru had marked her.
Sorai felt like cheering.
"Sorai!" Damia sounded both surprised, and angry, but there wasn't time for more than that to be seen.
Blades rang – the two guards were right behind her, attacking from either side. Sorai had just enough time to register that Sesshoumaru was...running away...? Before she became unable to follow, too absorbed in what Damia was doing, trying to block, counter, move out of the way.
Sorai knew she was no match for Damia dead on – the older youkai had always easily beaten her at practice. Sorai was smaller, and lighter – more a planner than a fighter, though she wasn't helpless. But if Sesshoumaru was running -why, she didn't know – then all she needed was a distraction. They could both get away. She would gladly give her life to ensure Sesshoumaru's escape – but not if it wasn't needed. Sorai suspected she would be of more use alive.
He had changed. Sesshoumaru would never have run before. But...yet...here he was running, the bloody human she had smelled earlier held awkwardly in one arm.
Very...very...strange.
Sorai had never had any hesitations in cutting her losses – once Sesshoumaru was safe, she'd run like hell too. Youkai refugees from China hadn't had the luxury of pride – she had learned to be efficient, not honorable. "Go! Hold her as long as you can!" Those guards had to help her, or she'd be dead as well. Distantly, she caught a fleeting glimpse of retreating silver and white – Sesshoumaru was pulling away and wasting no time. In another moment, she could make her escape.
The guards split to take the flanks of the fight – one cried out as a sword caught him under the ribs, and he stumbled, the other one circling and darting in, stinging Damia on the side, sparks flying from amour and sword.
The fallen guard was too slow getting up after that fall – Damia reached over and slashed him brutally across the neck. Arteries wept – the guard was dead in seconds. His companion cried out, and charged, enraged.
Sorai was sorry for the death, but it gave her enough time to run – and to head towards Mesau and the two other miko.
Sorai wanted – no, needed - information...and she wanted it now. Those two miko would help her – she knew they bore no love for Damia, or Mesau, their captors. She needed to know what was happening, and where to get reinforcements. Either miko was a good source of information, if she could take one with her. Hopefully she would not be slowed too much in the escape – it was a calculated risk. Run and get clear, and be clueless, or have a better chance of finding out and take the risk of being caught.
If those two guards just bought her enough time...She had already managed to distract the enraged Damia enough to let Sesshoumaru, and the unknown mortal, escape. Now she had to find a way to help beyond that.
Underneath it all, her mind was boiling with questions; how long had they known he was alive? Where had Sesshoumaru been? Why hadn't she known? Foul play? Sorai set the questions aside for later; now was not the time.
"You're coming with me. Quickly!" Sorai reached down and looked hard at Botan, the nearer of the two miko, grabbing her firmly by the forearm. "I need help."
"Help...?" Botan stared at her though tear streaked eyes. "...you want...help?"
"Just come!" Sorai pulled on the the outstretched, bloodied arm of the girl and swung her onto her back, already jumping away from the clearing. Botan gasped, and awkwardly grabbed ahold of the light armor Sorai wore, eyes bewildered.
Behind her, Sorai heard the sounds of conflict, and hoped that the last guard had not fallen, had escaped, had bought her enough time to get away. She did not want more death.
Distantly, a scream of rage could be heard.
Apparently, Damia was not amused.
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Sorai crashed though the trees, running as fast as she could manage – not quite a full out sprint, but close, a pace she could maintain for a little while. Enough to get clear. On her back, Botan clung to her as best she could, still shaking from exhaustion and tears.
Sorai wished she would be quiet – who knew if Damia was close behind them or not? - but said nothing. Even if she mentioned the fact the miko was making a lot of noise, she doubted the noise level would drop, and it would earn her no favors from the other girl. She hoped being kind would be enough to get the information the young miko held, and she would not have to resort to something harsher.
Sorai really wanted to ask why she was so upset – something had happened, and she was itching to know what it was, but...she needed to save her breath for moving.
Sorai had no real direction or travel – other than the fact that Tosa and Satsuma were in the general region of human Edo.
She wondered if they knew of Sesshoumaru's miraculous reappearance, or not. Tanuma might have known. He was almost as good as her.
She hoped they knew – she could ask for their help. Or she could trade knowledge, and they might help. Something. Tanuma had been – and was – a rival in her world, but a respected one on both sides. The great game, some called it – Sorai would believe it. Trying to outfox a kitsune...they each respected the other, and hopefully that would be enough.
She missed the 'old days,' when Sesshoumaru had ruled. Life was a lot simpler in some ways then...
But Sorai was not fool enough to realize it would always be like that. She just hoped she'd be able to come out right in the end.
She kept running, hoping that soon, she would be able to either reach safety, or the Souther party headed for Aizu.
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Mesau groaned as she tried to crawl closer to Momiji – the younger miko would have none of it, and moved away at nearly a snails pace, throwing Mesau a dirty, accusatory look though her tears. Mesau's knee was throbbing, and it felt as though her whole leg was falling off. Mesau stopped, and shut her eyes. Before she had been too busy to really notice the pain – she had been able, to some extent, t shut it off. But now...
She gasped as Damia suddenly drew on her, using her own power, and winced as the other guard was efficiently hacked in half.
Damia was definitely stacking up the bodies today. Kyohei was dead by Sesshoumaru's hand, but Kagome and the two – highly skilled and difficult to replace – guards as well were her own doing.
That was unfortunate – Mesau knew how long it had Taken Sorai to find the one guard who had just been killed. It had taken years for the former spy mistress to get such a skilled person on the staff.
Too bad, really.
"Mesau!" Mesau winced as Damia's angry voice cut though her thoughts. "Where's that miko?"
"Sorai...she took Botan when she escaped, my lady." Mesau bowed her head as best she could, not looking up as she heard Damia approach. Out of the corner of her eyes she could see the blade Damia carried flick – a quick shake of the wrist to clean it of blood before it was sheathed.
Overhead, the clouds began to churn, and to grow darker with both twilight, and the coming storm.
"That's Sesshoumaru, the Shikon miko, and the new miko you've let escape today." Mesau did not dare look up, bu the cool, extra crisp voice let her know how displeased Damia was with her. "And Kyohei dead. I can't send him after Sorai while we find Sesshoumaru."
"We...are going after him, Damia?"
"Of course." Damia stated the remark like it was obvious. And to her, it was obvious. Damia was unable to go after both Sorai and Sesshoumaru at the same time. Sorai was uninjured, and even with that miko – who Damia could still draw upon, but less so, with the increasing distance – she doubted they'd catch her and Sesshoumaru. So – best to focus on what she could salvage of this fiasco.
Sesshoumaru had to die – that was all she could think to do. Damia didn't know where Sorai was – she could not even track more than a vague sense of direction from the miko Sorai had stolen. They had gone south, and a bit east. Or perhaps Sorai had discarded the miko, and it was a misdirection; with Sorai, it was possible that that was the only reason she had taken Botan with her.
Best to focus on one goal, the most important one. Sesshoumaru.
Damia felt angered by Mesau's inability to stop Sesshoumaru, and more so, angry with herself. She should have been able to take him. Just a few more seconds...
And then he had unleashed Tetsusaiga on her! Damia was still mystified as to how that had happened. Perhaps the Shikon miko had told him its secret. Regardless...Damia had been careless enough to get herself injured. That was unforgivable.
"Momiji – get back in the cart." Damia reluctantly released some of the girls power to her. Momiji was forced to obey, clearly not happy with that fact. Damia drew as much as she could from Botan, over the distance, and then turned to Mesau. She was still angry with the older miko as well. Mesau had allowed herself to be crippled at a crucial time. That was also unforgivable, and easier to lash out about.
"I don't have enough time to do this properly. The knee's shattered, and it would have to be set. I don't know how to do it."
Mesau looked up at her. Damia's feral smile grew fixed. The human dared to look up at her like that, in hope?
"I do not think I could set it myself my lady, not with any amount of speed."
"Then live with that knee for now – I'll get it started enough so that you're not totally useless." She wanted – very badly – to leave Mesau to cope with the shattered knee, and the pain, as punishment, but realized it wouldn't be very useful. Mesau was incompetent enough without an injury to slow her down. "Later, in Aizu, you may seek out a healer and get it done properly. This will do for now."
Reluctantly, Damia released the hold she had over Mesau's miko power – and then began feeding a little of her own back towards the miko. Mesau could not draw on it, but Damia could choose to lend a little of it for times like these.
Damia could feel her arm's healing slow as she did this, but it could not be helped. Having Momiji for both of them to draw on was helping a bit, but not enough.
"Get in the cart – we're going to follow Sesshoumaru, run him to ground, and finish him off. I don't like loose ends behind me." After he was dealt with, she'd see if there was enough time to deal with Sorai – another dangerous loose end.
Relentlessly, Damia began to make ready to leave the clearing, not looking back at the old well, and the peaceful meadow that had become a battle field. She wasn't going to think about the bother of replacing those guards, now, or the shaken feeling she had acquired after Sorai's betrayal, and Kyohei's death.
She collected the swords laying around the clearing, and smiled, a cold, hard, bitter grin. The blades were added to the cart, and then her own personal belongings were dealt with. Damia adjusted her own sword in its sheath, setting it for easy travel, not bothering to loosen the guard.
Mesau crawled into the cart – reluctantly, Damia lent a hand to make sure that the injured woman actually could get into the cart. The instant she was safely in the vehicle, Damia took off, following Sesshoumaru's escape route through the trees. She could only hope that he hadn't gone far – she couldn't hope to match his speed with the two humans to drag along behind her.
One could only hope to salvage something of this...
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Sesshoumaru's breath came in short gasps as he loped though the gathering wind, heading towards the dark clouds. Clasped against his chest, Kagome's breathing could be heard, faintly, but far, far too shallow for his liking.
He guessed they had come quite far, by now. He hoped, prayed, that Damia and reinforcements were not hot on the trail. If they were...well.
In that case, kuso.
Sesshoumaru took stock of his own situation, and resources, while he ran. There hadn't been time to think of that till now, but best he do so.
He wasn't too badly hurt. A few wounds on his outer forearm, and on a thigh. The armor was dented; how that had happened, he didn't know. A scrape on his scalp stung, but hadn't done much other than make his hair a frightful red mess in the back. Already, the wound had begun to close and slow, leaving behind only the messy evidence.
He was tired, though, and far from calm. That was both slowing him, and delaying further healing. It definitely did not bode well for any further fighting. What he really needed was a place to stop and rest for the night. Whether he would be able to get that, he didn't know.
Sesshoumaru then glanced down at his sash, where Tetsusaiga was currently banging against his thigh. The rusted blade had Damia's blood on it, but not a large amount. He'd only scratched her. Just enough to get her mad...
Much stronger than the smell of Damia's blood though, was Kagome's. And it was also much ore worrisome.
Sesshoumaru hadn't analyzed her situation very much till now – he'd been too focused on getting away. He should fix that...
He looked down at Kagome's small, pale face, and saw her closed eyes, lashes sometimes flickering. The wounds down her right forearm were...worrisome. Something like that would have slowed even him a bit, let alone a much more fragile human.
A few colorful blotches were scattered here and there, just starting to become colorful bruises. Aside form the bloody sleeve on the right, her chest was unmarked, and the other wounds were not bad in and of themselves. It was more the fact that there were so many of them...
Sesshoumaru's fingers curled in tighter just a little bit. More fragile...she was much more fragile than he was. And a fine job he'd done of protecting her, he thought bitterly. So much for that noble thought.
"...that...you...Sesshoumaru?" Kagome's voice was faint, but the keen ears of an Inuyoukai could still hear the faint whisper. Sesshoumaru slowed down as much as he dared, ears open for any sound of pursuit behind him.
She wasn't as bad as he had thought, he hoped, if she could still talk...
The wind around him blew harder, tiny flecks of drizzle splattering on his nose. Sesshoumaru grimaced as he realized that the night was going to be a rainy one.
Kuso.
"Yes, Kagome?"
"...so...cold." Kagome was shivering, he realized, though it was hard to tell. She barely had the energy even for that. He slowed further, and stopped. It was now obvious to him that she could not be carried much further, and in a cold sweat, he realized that he could nearly smell the death on her. He could have managed the trip, but it was unlikely she would be able to.
He stopped, and gently put Kagome down, hand shaking. She couldn't...she couldn't go. If anyone was going to die, it ought not be her! Damia would be his first pick, but if need be, he should have taken that blow...
Sesshoumaru was worried. Kagome couldn't go away like Rin had. That wold be another death on his conscience, another death that he should have stopped, should have prevented...Rin...he hadn't been able to save Rin, not even with Tenseiga...
But Kagome wasn't dead yet. Sesshoumaru took some comfort from that, though the worry in his mind didn't fade.
"You are cold?" Sesshoumaru's large, fluffy tail immediately wrapped itself around the tiny miko, shielding her from wind, rain and the black of night. "Kagome?" His voice shook, a little, but at least Sesshoumaru was able to force his hand to be steady, gently tucking away a stray bit of fur, and brush dark strands of hair away from Kagome's eyes.
"...cold."
Kagome wanted to tell him that she was cold, that he shouldn't worry, that she was just cold and it would be all fine. Vaguely, she wondered where Damia had gotten to...
The last little bit was a blur. She remembered two white and blue shapes heading towards her, and feeling very tired; and then, she felt a bit – not better, if anything, her arm felt worse - but more with it.
Not much more, granted, but enough that she'd begun to recognize what was happening, enough that everything wasn't a white, hazy blur. Sesshoumaru had been fighting with Damia, and...Momiji and Botan were there? Mesau was helping, healing her? Kagome wasn't sure if that was what had happened, or if she'd begun hallucinating. A possibility, her mind suggested clinically from a distant corner of thought.
Why the red and white priestesses were there she couldn't begin to guess, but Mesau – as the stout, older miko whose knees she'd totaled must surely be – healing her? Kagome? Enemy? It made no sense.
Her head was pounding. Maybe she had been hallucinating then.
Sesshoumaru – he was here. Kagome smiled a bit. He was there when she needed him, now, wasn't he? She wondered why he wasn't fighting Damia, then shrugged it off. Maybe they'd won? That would be nice...she smiled a bit wider, happy for him, happy that he was here, happy she wasn't alone.
Strange, to say she was happy...tough perhaps that wasn't the best word. It was more that she was...content. Although she could wish for less bruises and wounds...
Kagome tried to move her arm, and groaned as the nerves running along the inside of her forearm screamed at her. The bundle of neurons controlling her hand were completely numb, thankfully, but she couldn't close her fingers. She tried to move her other arm, but was unable to get it to move further than an inch, fingers outstretched before they curled back into a bloody, limp claw.
...now, where was she...? Why was Sesshoumaru peering at her like that...?
Oh, good, maybe he'd beaten Damia, she thought fuzzily again...
Kagome blinked as a raindrop hit her on the nose, and she looked out from her furry nest of tail at Sesshoumaru's worried face. She wanted to tell him he looked odd, like that, but somehow, couldn't find the energy to say much more than 'cold.' She wondered why she was getting the privilege of being wrapped in this luxurious mantle, but didn't ask. It was enough to be there.
"Sesshoumaru? Where...are we? Damia..."
He glanced around, concern and wariness on his features. "I don't know. I had to get you out of there. She could be behind us, but I don't know"
Kagome smiled softly, and slowly, she tried to reach out a hand from the midst of her blanket. She was still so tired...whatever that sustaining energy from earlier had been, it was fast going, leaving her even more tired than before. Even Sesshoumaru's concerned face swam in an out of focus. So Damia wasn't gone, yet...but she was sure Sesshoumaru would beat her. He was going to win.
She wanted to say good luck, to tell him that she was sure he'd so it, but no sound came out, just a faint movement of lips.
Kagome's eyes flitted to her arm, and the soft smile turned into a rueful one, a regret.
'So this is it.' Rain fell on her face, as she distantly considered the possibility that she was going to die, not Sesshoumaru. It seemed silly somehow. Everything seemed silly and far off, like a bubble...
Kagome hadn't ever thought of dieing. It was very silly. Maybe this was all a dream...
...no, it hurt far too much to be a dream. Her arm felt, where she could still feel it, like it had been dipped in napalm. The skin howled and burned, and Kagome was too tired to do more than ride it out, and sink.
Sesshoumaru watched as Kagome's eyes started to drop closed again, and he roughly leaned forwards and shook her good shoulder. "Kagome. Kagome!" 'Don't fall asleep on me,' he wanted to plead, 'or you just might not wake up...' and he didn't want that, he didn't want that at all... even Tenseiga...Rin had been too far gone for Tenseiga, but...
Tenseiga.
Sesshoumaru's eyes went wide with shock as he remembered exactly where his sword was.
In the clearing.
With Damia.
Effectively, behind enemy lines.
Kuso!
"Just...gnn'a...nap..." He could barely hear the words she was saying, and they were starting to become slurred.
Sesshoumaru panicked. He knew she was dieing, he knew it, and it scared him so very much. He, who was very good at causing injury, was not very well versed in how to deal with it. Human medicine...
It involved herbs. And bandages. Possibly, chanting. Beyond that, he didn't know much. Youkai healing was such that it generally didn't much matter. Kagome...
What could he do...? He could do anything, couldn't, couldn't, didn't know what to try...and every moment, he was painfully aware, was another precious second gone, anther grain of sand. To hold infinity in the palm of your hand...
He glanced at the crude half finished bandage on her forearm, and tugged at it, feeling totally helpless - how could he tie it on with one hand? Why wouldn't it stay on her arm? He tugged on it more, and then stopped. He was only making it worse.
Why did she have to smile so peacefully?
Impotently, he glared at the useless blade at his waist. He'd spent so long searching for the sword that could slay a hundred in one swing... !He couldn't save her, he couldn't, he only had a sword, a sword that could heal...a sword that would bring the dead to life. He couldn't let her die...
He'd give anything for Tenseiga right now.
Anything.
'Tenseiga...' Sesshoumaru watched Kagome, hand clenching and unclenching, eyes helplessly enraged There was no way he could leave her to return to the clearing – it was far behind them. He could not carry her, or she would die sooner, and he couldn't bear the thought of it. He could not return for the sword that conquered death.
Tenseiga only worked once. And it only worked on those whose souls were not already taken by deaths pallbearers.
If Kagome died, he had less than a few hours. And that would not be enough time for her.
Sesshoumaru ran this thought through his mind with shock. It didn't sink in. It just wasn't sinking in. She couldn't go anywhere. She couldn't die; that was impossible. She was...Kagome. What would he do without Kagome?
"Kagome...Kagome..."
"M'fine, j'us tired..."
Recklessly, Sesshoumaru pulled her into a careful hug. "Don't go to sleep just yet. Please." He didn't care that his voice was wavering at the last. All that mattered was not letting her go – he wouldn't.
He wasn't letting go...!
Sesshoumaru felt so helpless, then. He had never felt that way before in his life. There had always been something he could do to help. His own strength has seen him though many many battles.
The mask over his face slipped just a little bit, allowing some of what was running though his mind, though his stony heart, to surface. Sesshoumaru's eyes stretched back into eternity, empty.
And now, watching this ting human miko, so fragile, slowly slipping away... He had watched death come and go before. It had never mattered. Tenseiga...
He would have given anything for a way to get his hands on it!
All those years worrying over Tetsusaiga, plotting to get his hand on it, were wasted. When it came right down to it he was left with only Tetsusaiga, with just the sword he'd always wanted...and it was the wrong sword.
Kagome...He held on just a little tighter.
"Sessh...mru? Wha...?" She sounded so faint...clinically, his mind gave her another hour, tops. The rest of him was not happy with this pronouncement.
"Don't worry, Kagome."
Between the fur, and the fragile, bloody miko in his arms, he felt – and heard - something crinkle. Sesshoumaru frowned. Crinkle...?
"M'okay."
"No. No you're not. But you will be." He just didn't know how to do it. He didn't know how, didn't know what else to do except to hold her tight and pray she'd hold on just a little longer. All thoughts of defeating Damia were gone, by now. If she had appeared just then, Sesshoumaru would have hardy known what to do about her.
And then Sesshoumaru frowned and held Kagome out at arms length, face scanning hers, worry written larger than ever into his features. Her eyes were closing. Crinkling...
Sesshoumaru frowned, and then his eyes lit up briefly. Crinkles. Paper.
Writing.
When was the last time he'd seen writing Kagome had tucked away on her person? The night they'd had that fight in the ship cabin. When she had asked him what he was going to do.
Sesshoumaru realized he'd been acting a bit childish, but put it aside. There was no time for that now. Gingerly, he reached down towards Kagome's white, stained top. His fingers hesitated just before they came into contact, and a slight ting of pink crept across his nose. She'd kept the paper tucked into the fold of her white woven top, close to her chest. He hadn't even thought...
Ordinarily, this might be considered a little rude...But he had to find out what that paper was. If it was what he hoped...
There might be a way. There might be. He couldn't bear to see her die, to know that he'd led her to her death, had been unable to save her. But most importantly...he would not see her die.
Sesshoumaru, feeling entirely too much like Miroku, reached for the sound of crackling paper, trying very hard not to imagine what this might look like from the outside.
"Tickles...Boyo...cat.."
He was oddly amused that Kagome had mistaken the fur wrapped around her, and his nervous fingers for her pet cat, and at the same time, deeply saddened that she had not even known who he was. Quickly, Sesshoumaru scanned the papers he had retrieved.
They were the right ones!
He glanced quickly at Kagome, and at the papers. It was all laid out in detail. How to do something that might save her, if he lent her his own strength, lent her his endurance, let himself help her.
"I am right here. And I am sorry, Kagome. I truly am. I didn't want you to be caught in this."
He didn't want her to be thrust naked into the world of backstabbing, of power, of those who used and left you to dry in the sun. He wanted to protect her from himself.
Especially himself.
He could never tie her to himself as she had said, before, could never hold her to him with something so ugly as blood. Even something with good intentions...he would never do it. Winning would not come at the cost of her freedom; death would come before that unhappy hour.
Most especially from himself...
He watched as Kagome closed her eyes and then, let out a long breath, face suddenly. calm, as though she had reached a state where she could do nothing but accept, watch, and act when the time was ready. A place beyond emotions...
"Alright. I...understand. I don't like, but I understand. But remember – if you ever decide you want my help, in any way...even that way...I will do whatever it takes."
She smiled sadly, and turned, but before she left, looked back one last time. "I made a decision a long time ago, Sesshoumaru. I don't know if it's right, or wrong... but I'm sticking with it."
And then, she walked out the door.
Sesshoumaru closed his eyes – he remembered that night in the cabin very well. And he remembered what Kagome had said. Perhaps...
He had to choose between pride, and life. Once, it would have been an easy decision: Pride.
Once, it would have been hard – Pride, or a life?
Now, it was easy once again.
Life.
1111111111111111111
...Tastes like cheddar. Yay for Pink Floyd!
...ahem. Yes, anther pop reference, though considerably more blatant than last one. Lol. I'll shut up now. Hopefully my slightly cheesy, angsty writing hasn't totally dropped off the face of the plausibility chart by now.
And I know the cliffies keep getting stuck in there too. Sorry! Its...the nature of the authoress to be slightly 'mean'? (shrugs)
Apologies as well for lateness. I wanted to get the above scene right. I probably didn't spend as much time as I ought to have, but I did sit on it a little longer to take time to edit. (has a new job – not much time for anything now...) Thank you for your patience with me, and for your many, many kind words, both on the last chapter and on this story. I have started the next chapter, and I hope to get it up as soon as I can.
That said – reviews are always appreciated! (big grin)